Page 134 of The Dragon 1
Twice.
I tried to blink this scene into something else—anything else—but it didn’t change.
Yet. . .even chained and broken, she was the most sacred thing in that room. Not some weak woman. Not a victim. But a powerful symbol of everything we still had to lose.
Love.
I looked at Hiro again.
His body was tight with restrained fury. His teeth bared like an animal. Not because of the pain. Not even because of the men holding him down.
He was staring at Nura.
Staring at her like she was the only thing left in the world that still meant something.
They had chained her.
They had stripped her.
They had broken her.
Because of him.
Because of me.
Because of the goddamn Fox.
I moved toward him.
That’s when the shadows came alive.
Three men stepped out—then five—then more. Silent with their guns leveled at me. Red laser sights painted my chest, throat, and forehead. No one said a word.
Reo stepped up beside me and his voice was as cold as a winter funeral. “Get your fucking guns off the Dragon.”
The closest man spoke. “Then, make sure the Dragon doesn’t step close to the Fox.”
“You keep aiming at him and I’ll make sure your mothers cry over closed caskets.” Reo didn’t blink.“There won’t be enough of you left to mourn properly.”
One of the guards sneered gun still steady, “orders are orders.”
Reo tilted his head. “And body bags are body bags. I can fill ten by breakfast.”
A pause came.
Then one by one, the muzzles dipped.
But none of the men moved back.
The one closest to me spoke again. “Take another step, Dragon. . .and westill willshoot. Closed caskets or not.”
The tension crackled.
I bared my teeth at my father. “What the fuck is wrong with you!”
My father turned his head—just slightly. His voice rasped out from behind the oxygen mask. “You’re late.”
The oxygen pump hissed again like a serpent coiled in his chest. The machines around him beeped softly, trying to convince us he was weak.
